Six Seasons with the Washington Senators: 1894-1899

Mercer spent the first seven years of his major league career, 1894–1899, with the Washington Senators. The Senators were one of the worst teams in baseball during Mercer’s years with them. During Mercer’s tenure, the Senators were 45-87 (1894); 43-85 (1895); 58-73 (1896); 61-71 (1897); 51-101 (1898) and 54-98 (1899).

While Mercer’s career record is 131-164, these figures do not reflect Mercer’s talents. In Mercer’s rookie season, 1894, he pitched 336-1/3 innings and had 29 complete games at age 20. His ERA of 3.85 was third best in the National League. Yet, his win-loss record for the hapless Senators was 17-23. In 1896, Mercer managed to win 25 games (5th best in the National League) despite playing for a losing team. If Mercer’s decisions were...Read More